


Rumble and Sway

by mclahinskis



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Epic Bromance, Friendship/Love, M/M, Scisaac will happen eventually, Sexual Confusion, Sexual Content, Slow Build, might have other ships eventually, we'll see what i feel like doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-05
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-14 00:45:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/830741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mclahinskis/pseuds/mclahinskis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Scott McCall every day has a new special word attached to it, and somehow those words start to have a deeper meaning in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nascent

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place post-Season 2 and pre-Season 3 - so it's only "canon compliant" up until the finale of Season 2.

A single ray of light streamed through the ill-covered glass of the window and landed square on the face of a sleeping mass in the bed. In a futile attempt to ward of wakefulness Scott brought his blankets over his eyes. Just as he finally managed to feel the strong pull of sleep again he heard what could only be described as the _unfortunate_ sound of a vehicle pulling up into his driveway.

With a sigh he relinquished his hold on his blankets and tossed them down to reveal himself to the light of day. He turned his head to the side to look at the red bars of light on his alarm clock showing the time as being 9:31 AM - far too early to be awoken during summer break.

"Scott, I know you can hear me," spoke Stiles in nothing more than a conversational tone from the front entrance.

The teenage werewolf groaned as he swung his legs over the side of his bed, his bare feet making contact with the hardwood of his floor as he stretched his arms above his head. If he was going to be woken up by his best friend, he might as well have a bit of fun with it.

A wolfish grin crossed his lips as he quietly removed himself from his bed - the creak of the stairs signaling that Stiles was fast approaching - and made his way behind his door. He crouched low in wait, his prey unknowingly making its way into his bedroom.

The taller, more _limb-full_ half of the Scott-Stiles duo entered the room and immediately quirked his head to his side at the sight of an empty bed and an open window.

"Really, Scott, really?" he mumbled to himself, biting into the crimson red skin of an apple he'd likely plucked from the kitchen counter.

Stiles groaned as he turned on his heels, only then greeted by the half-naked form of Scott standing right in the way of the door, teeth bared and claws out in his best attempt to look "scary". Evidently it worked because in a split second his best friend was sprawled on his back, apple tossed carelessly to the side and heart beating frantically with panic.

"Jesus Christ, Scott!" he cried, his voice tinged with annoyance especially at the sight of Scott half-bent over in laughter, his features now returned to normal human quality. "Was that _really_ necessary?"

"Was showing up at my house before noon _really necessary_?" Scott quipped back, his arms crossed across his firm chest. "Because I seem to remember us agreeing that you would text or call before coming over."

Stiles immediately yanked his phone from his pocked, unlocked it and held out the screen for Scott to see. Thirteen texts sent to Scott McCall over the last hour.

"I did text you, idiot," he said as he stood up, brushing off the proverbial dirt and embarrassment from his clothing, "You just didn't answer."

"Sorry, I was busy sleeping."

"Seems like you were busy planning my demise."

"Only after you arrived and woke me up."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, dude."

Scott was already slipping on a t-shirt over his torso, not caring to replace the basketball shorts in which he had slept, by the time that Stiles was finally composed enough to move on. He was almost afraid to ask what was so important that Stiles would drag himself over to his house so early in the morning, but figured even if he didn't ask he would definitely find out sooner rather than later.

"So what's up?" he asked as he walked into the bathroom to begin preparing himself for the day.

"We're going out."

"Ou'?" Scott echoed, his mouth foaming white with toothpaste as he stopped the brushing motion just long enough to try to utter the single word.

"Yes, out."

Scott spit out the remnants of the toothpaste, rinsing his mouth twice before asking, "Where?"

A silence fell over the room as Scott's question went unanswered. It wasn't usual for Stiles to not have a response, which made the teenage werewolf a bit uneasy, especially as he slowly turned to see Stiles messing around with his laptop.

"Stop that!" He slapped the other boy's hands out of the way in time to stop him from closing his reminder about his new 'Word of the Day' that had just popped up.

"What's that?" Stiles asked, pointing at the screen as if he didn't have two eyes and the ability to read it himself.

"It's nothing, forget about it." Scott instructed, his eyes already picking up the new word and its meaning before he closed the lid of his laptop to keep it from prying eyes. "So where are we going?"

"Oh, right, sorry dude, forgot you asked," _lies_ , Scott could tell, "First food, then maybe you can help me with getting Captain like you promised."

Scott should have known that was what this was all about. Somehow his friend had decided he would be the next Jackson Whittemore and become the next Captain of the Beacon Hills High School Lacrosse team. He deserved it, or so Scott believed, and so with only a small, slightly begrudging shrug of his shoulders he grabbed the black duffle bag that contained his equipment and headed for the front door.

* * * * * *

"Isaac?"

"What?" Stiles looked confused, or rather, was making himself appear confused and oblivious. After having been best friends for so long it wasn't hard for Scott to tell the difference between the two.

He could smell the other wolf almost as soon as they had exited Stiles' jeep near the field. It was no longer a scent that made his hackles rise and his blood rush violently, but for some reason the other boy still made him uneasy. There was just something about Derek's last remaining beta in Beacon Hills that put him off-balance, not that he had filled Stiles in on that.

"I know he's here, Stiles."

"Fine. I asked him to help too and he agreed, figured we could all use some more friends."

"But you have me," Scott looked like a kicked puppy: all big brown eyes and pouting lips.

Stiles just rolled his eyes and kept walking towards the pitch.

"Wait up!" It took only a few strides for the werewolf to catch up to his best friend, his duffle back slung easily over his right shoulder.

Isaac was standing by the far goalpost; his back slightly slouched as he picked at his nails. He didn't seem to notice the approach of Scott and Stiles, at least not until they were within earshot and he mumbled a soft, "Hey."

Stiles smiled and clasped the werewolf on the back, something that brought a stiffening to the taller boy's posture as he ceased his nail cleaning and instead focused his eyes on the newcomers to the field.

"Hey Isaac," Scott spoke warmly and threw his bag of equipment to the side. He unzipped it and took out his lacrosse stick and a ball.

"You ready to help?" Stiles asked both of them, his gaze shifting between the two.

"Yeah," they spoke in unison, something that shocked them both and brought their eyes together, a small bit of surprise hidden behind a mask on each boy.

"Good, let's do this, we only have two months until school starts-"

"And you still have a long way to go," Scott finished his best friend's sentence, which brought a playful scoff from Stiles as he took his own stick out of his bag.

Isaac was already prepared to practice, and apparently just as willing to help Stiles as Scott was. The beta hadn't been around very much, not since Gerard was defeated and Jackson's time as a kanima came to an end. Of course, Jackson was also gone now, apparently sent off to London by his parents due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding all the events of the previous year. Scott was just happy they'd all made it out alive, or at least, most of them had.

"Okay, you get in net," Stiles was pointing at Isaac who shrugged his shoulders and walked between the white poles.

Standing there, cracking his neck and stretching his long limbs, Scott couldn't help but stare for second. He was only now realizing just how filled out the other male had gotten since getting the bite and training with Derek. The added muscle looked good on him - a thought Scott was a bit concerned to even be having.

He shook it off as he looked over at Stiles, waiting for the next instruction to be bellowed out.

"Don't just stand there, dude," annoyance crossed his best friend's face as if it were apparent what he should be doing. _'Oh right_ ,' he thought to himself, looking down at the small netting at the end of his stick: he had the ball.

All it took was a simple flick of his rest and the ball was sent shooting from him towards Stiles - a perfect pass, the kind he never would have been able to make a year ago.

Unfortunately, getting Stiles the same level of skills would not be such an easy task.

* * * * * *

Two hours - and several bouts of play fighting - later and Stiles was finally warn out. Sweat dripped from the boy's admittedly longer hair. It was at an awkward length if Scott's opinion counted for anything, but apparently that's what the other boy had to go through to get from a buzz cut to any semblance of length.

"Shit," Stiles cursed as he looked down at his cellphone, "I really gotta go - my dad is going to kill me if I don't get home like a half hour ago."

With that the boy was leaping and bounding towards his jeep, leaving behind equally shocked werewolves. They shared a look with each other, mentally saying ' _what the fuck?_ ' without even having to say a word aloud.

"He drove, didn't he?" asked Isaac, his tone bordering on incredulous.

"Yup."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

It wasn't so much that Stiles didn't care, it was more so that sometimes he got caught up in one thought without worrying about peripheral things such as driving his best friend home. Scott merely shook his head, sighing lightly as he threw his stick back into his duffle bag.

"You want to come over for a bit?"

The question came out before Scott could really even stop himself. Deaton had given him the day off and he had thought he'd spend the night with Stiles playing video games and ordering pizza. However, since his best friend had ditched it seemed like a waste to let those plans go to waste.

"Huh?" Isaac looked nothing less than shocked.

Sure, they didn't hang out profusely, but it wasn't like they weren't friends. Well, maybe friends did have a lot more contact with one another than they did, but they were at least friendly acquaintances. Hadn't it been Stiles who had said they needed to make more friends anyways?

"We can play some video games, maybe order a pizza if you want," Scott shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, trying to play it down for the other beta's sake.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, my mom's working the night shift so she's already gone, she said she'd leave some money for Stiles and me, but now that he's gone I figure...."

He didn't need to even finish the sentence to see that Isaac was on board with the plans. There was lightness to his features and a small glint in his eyes. What was it with noticing all these things about Isaac nowadays anyways? Scott shook that thought off quickly, instead focusing back on his plans for the evening.

"Looks like we'll have to walk, though."

Isaac shrugged, picked up his bag and started to walk in the direction of Scott's house.

"You coming?" he asked over his shoulder, slowing only momentarily to look back at Scott who looked nothing short of dumbfounded on the field.

This feeling inside of Scott was still _nascent_ , but it didn't stop him from following after the taller male. 


	2. Atonement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac spends some quality bonding time with Scott in lieu of Stiles that happens to include video games, pizza, and Friends. However, Scott is starting to realize that he has more questions than answers when it comes to his curly-haired acquaintance.

Somewhere between the fifth and sixth time that Scott was defeated in _Call of Duty_ by Isaac he realized he knew very little about the beta that he had willingly invited into his home. Sure, there were a few things that were common knowledge, and an assortment of other tidbits that he had come to learn through his own subtle prying, but by and large he knew very little about the other teenager. 

Of course, the one question that seemed most demanding for his attention at that time was _how was Isaac so good at video games?_ Did Derek 'I'm the Alpha' Hale secretly have a stash of video games and consoles at whatever hole they were living in now? That brought to mind another question: where did Isaac, Derek, and Peter live? It didn't seem safe to stay at the abandoned train depot anymore, nor was the Hale house in any sort of livable condition. These questions and more swarmed through Scott's mind as he watched himself get gunned down once again.

He released a defeated groan and tossed his controller to the side, kicking out his legs so that he could stretch out fully. They had been playing for nearly two hours already, even though it had only felt like fifteen or so minutes. If Stiles had been there he would have been hearing the wines of a hungry teenager craving pizza and demanding it be ordered. Isaac, on the other hand, was completely quiet as he set up the next match in the game, not really giving notice to the outstretched Scott beside him.

A small smile flickered across the teenager's face as he watched Isaac's long but nimble thumbs flick over the controls. He definitely knew what he was doing. _The plot thickened_.

It was at precisely the quietest moment when Scott's stomach decided to rumble and roil as loud as humanly possible. Scott quickly brought his arm across his gut, trying to calm the noise as much as possible and failing miserably. Isaac had the same enhanced werewolf hearing as he did, after all, and no amount of hiding would stop the other wolf from knowing now that Scott was absolutely famished.

"I - sorry," Scott mumbled, looking a bit embarrassed, "Kind of lost track of time."

"Don't worry about it," Isaac responded with a soft shrug, his blue hues moving gently over to look upon Scott. "Pizza?" 

The mention of food brought another hungry roar from Scott, followed by a groan as he tried to hide the added colour that was now flooding to his cheeks.

"I'll order now." He dug into his pocket and fished out his cellphone, only then realizing he had absolutely _no idea_ what sort of toppings the other male liked on his pizza. Isaac looked like the classic meat lover's connoisseur, a thought that could be taken more than one way and as such made Scott blush even further for even considering the other meaning behind such a phrase. 

As Scott had a minor freak out session while blankly staring at the screen of his phone he could feel the eyes of the other boy directed at him. Lifting his brown eyes from the screen and turning his head just slightly so they could make contact he found himself once again thinking about the immense amount of unanswered questions he had about the boy beside, now including his favourite variety of pizza.

"Do you need help?" Isaac asked, a small bit of concern hidden behind his 'I'm a tough werewolf' facade. Evidently Scott had been staring for a bit too long, both at his phone and in the other boy's direction. 

He shook his head, "No," he said softly, unlocking his phone and turning his focus back to it. "What kind of pizza do you like?"

Isaac shrugged his broad shoulders and bobbed his head side-to-side as if considering his options. Instead of speaking he just shrugged again.

"Come on, man, everyone has a favourite."

Once again Isaac looked a bit shocked, but this time it wasn't directed at Scott, and instead more of an internal battle against himself.

"I just like pizza," Isaac meekly responded, his eyes now shifted back to the TV screen as if there was any sort of action occurring there - there wasn't.

"Okay, how about Ham and Pineapple?"

Scott instantly recognized the signs of disgust shown superficially under the surface of Isaac's face. He didn't outwardly make any sort of objection to it, instead simply responding with an, "Okay," as if that pizza would actually be delicious for him to eat. _Not a fan of pineapple on pizza_ , Scott scrawled on his mental list of 'Things I know about Isaac Lahey'.

* * * * * *

Thirty six minutes later, a few more rumbles of Scott's empty stomach (and one from Isaac's), and the pizza was finally delivered. The dinner had quickly become a midnight snack due to the time at which it arrived, but neither boy seemed to mind awfully much. Once again Scott wondered if Isaac even had a curfew - did Derek give curfews? Did Isaac even live with Derek? The smell of grease and cheese managed to dislodge those thoughts in favour of hunger.

"Meat lover's?" asked the taller boy as he opened the box and peeked in at the contents that it held.

"Are you a vegetarian now?!" He was joking, of course. Being a vegetarian and a werewolf didn't seem very compatible, although anything was possible, right? Isaac simply laughed and shook his head, grabbing a piece for himself and putting another on a plate that Scott had handed to him.

"Thanks, Scott," said Isaac, biting into the hot pizza a moment later as he leaned up against one of the kitchen counters.

"It's no problem," Scott noted, trying to play off the fact that he was now curiously trying to see if Isaac was actually enjoying the pizza or just pretending to. Apparently his curiosity was noticed by his guest as he reached up to cover his mouth, a worried look spread across his features.

"Is there something on my face?" His voice was muffled due to the hand over his mouth. 

Scott shook his head, a slightly embarrassed smile on his face for causing this sort of reaction from Isaac. "No, sorry, just zoned out for a second," he offered, laughing a second later to try to diffuse the situation.

The other boy accepted the explanation without a second thought and began to eat again. All the while Scott consciously made the effort to avoid looking at the tall guest in his kitchen. He didn't need to stare to know that clearly he had guessed right: Isaac Lahey was a meat lover's kind of guy. At least since Stiles wasn't there he didn't have to endure the salty taste of black olives on his pizza.

* * * * * *

Once both of the boys had finished eating their pizza - which is to say they devoured an extra large pizza between the both of them and still had room for a bag of chips - they made their way back to the living room. Apparently the time for video games had come and passed, which meant Scott would not get atonement for his prior defeat at the hands of the other beta wolf. Instead, they found late night reruns of _Friends_ playing on the television.

"You like this show?" Scott asked Isaac, not really sure if he should change the channel or not.

Isaac turned his head to look at Isaac, his features definitely more relaxed now than when he had first entered the McCall house. Scott would have even ventured as far as to say that the other boy looked comfortable on the couch with his knees pulled up and his feet only a foot or so away from Scott's. Wait. Why was he thinking about his proximity to the other boy again?

"It was on of my mom's favourite shows," Isaac responded in a soft, almost whispery tone. His eyes were no longer connected with Scott's but instead diverted slightly to the left. Scott didn't know anything about Isaac's mom other than that she was no longer around, something that just showed him how little he had paid attention to his classmate before the entire werewolf-ordeal had taken hold of Beacon Hills and his teenage life.

"I can change it," he said quickly, his finger already on the button to switch the channel to another one. 

With what could only be described as preternatural reflexes Isaac snatched the remote from Scott's hand and stuffed it in the cushion beside him.

"No, it's fine."

Scott could only stare at the other boy whose gaze had returned to Joey and Chandler on the screen in front of them. This was a moment that he couldn't necessarily describe in any other way than _weird_. Was he witnessing Isaac coming out of his shell and possibly even opening up? Or maybe Derek just didn't have cable and so this was the first time in a long time Isaac had been able to watch a show he remembered fondly from his past. Either way, it wasn't a horrible thing to experience, at least not for Scott. 

"Sorry," Scott felt something hard against his arm as the other boy uttered the word, "I didn't mean to overreact like that."

He took the remote and smiled at Isaac, shrugging as if it had been completely normal.

"It's fine, man, really."

"We don't need to watch this if you don't want."

"Are you kidding me? This is the episode where Chandler and Joey get a pet duck and chick. Definitely one of my favourites."

So maybe he watched a bit too much Friends, but there had been one summer where he had been really into it and decided to marathon the entire season...twice. It only became embarrassing when he started quoting the lines from the episode before they were even spoken. However, he realized that even though he'd been doing that the entire episode, not once had Isaac reacted to it. Actually, _he had done it a few times as well_.

Scott mentally added _fan of Friends_ to his 'Things I Know About Isaac' list., a satisfied smile on his mouth. Maybe Stiles was right all along, maybe making new friends would be nice. At least this way he wouldn't have to think about Allison as much anymore. Allison who had gone off to France without even really saying goodbye. Allison who he swore he loved but knew he couldn't be with, at least not right now. Nope. He couldn't think about her, and maybe being friends with Isaac could help him to at least forget about her for the summer.

* * * * * *

The couch shifted and Scott's eyes opened groggily. He didn't really remember nodding off, though apparently both he and Isaac had. The other boy was standing up as quietly as possible, though werewolf senses made it hard for someone to really sneak out without notice.

"Hey, sorry, I guess I fell asleep," he muttered, rubbing his eyes as he sat up so that he was a bit more at-level with Isaac.

"Me too," he shrugged. His hair was a mess and half flattened on one side, which Scott realized with a bit of embarrassment was due to the fact that Isaac's head had been on his arm while the slept. "I should get going though, Derek is going to kill me."

So he was staying with Derek. Or maybe he just checked in with the Alpha. Either way, Scott didn't really feel like getting on Derek Hale's bad side, not after he had finally managed to convince the other werewolf that he wouldn't be joining his pack and that he just wanted to be a normal teenager.

"Yeah, cool, here," he stood up, stretching a bit before walking around the couch, "I'll walk you out."

It was only half-past two and probably too late for a normal teenager to be out alone in the dark. However, Isaac wasn't a normal teenager, and Scott didn't really know how to ask if the boy wanted to just crash on his couch. He also didn't know if that was a good idea considering the fact that his mom would be home in just over five hours and it might shock her to find a sleeping werewolf on her furniture.

They walked to the front door in near silence, both of them pretty much walking zombies due to being so tired and having just woken up. However, Scott managed to smile when he opened the door for Isaac, something he didn't know why he was doing. Was he happy that Isaac was leaving? No, that definitely wasn't it. He was happy because Isaac had come over, and they had had a pretty enjoyable time.

"Thanks for the pizza and the video games," the other boy said with a yawn tacked on at the end.

"No problem," Scott replied, before quickly adding on, "We should do this again, if you want."

He could have sworn that he saw a small bit of excitement flash across Isaac's face, although it could have just been his tired eyes playing tricks on him. The other boy was definitely smirking though.

"Sure, just let me know when."

And with that Isaac was gone, walking down the front path and out onto the sidewalk. It had certainly been an enlightening night for Scott, even though he was still left with more questions about the other boy than answers. Still, seeing as how their first hangout had gone pretty well it seemed more than likely that it would happen again.


	3. Reverie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes things aren't always what they seem, and other times they are just that. The hard part for Scott is figuring out which of the two he would actually prefer, although luckily he has his best friend to count on for advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-betad so hopefully there aren't too many mistakes. Also please feel free to leave constructive comments or ideas about things you would like to see, I'm pretty open. Hopefully the next update will be soon!

Isaac's body was all hard lines and sharp points. Even the muscle that was clearly defined on his torso and arms looked wiry and solid, like a boy used to running. Of course, the pale skin in the hazy glow of the rising sun was more than enough to attract the brown eyes of Scott as he felt the warmth of his bed intensified by the startling realization that he wasn't alone. How long had Isaac been there? _Was he completely naked?_

Scott felt like he should know the answer to both those questions, but for some reason he couldn't seem to get them to settle into his mind with any sort of clarity. He groaned as he tried to move, only to find one of the other boy's arms firmly wrapped around his waist, holding them tightly together. _'Naked, definitely naked,'_ he thought to himself.

"Scott," his name sounded husky yet sweet coming from the other boy's lips, spoken into his neck by a very-much-not-awake bed companion.

"Sorry," he mumbled, a bit embarrassed that he had just woken up the other boy, but still utterly confused about what was going on. How had they gotten like this? Something was wrong. 

"'s fine."

"You can go back to sleep," maybe if Isaac went back to sleep he could have a bit more time to ruminate on what the hell was going on in his bed. 

"No," it was more of a growl than a word; full of possessive intent and a bit of fear. 

Scott felt as though he could sense everything more completely, like he was completely attuned to the naked boy beside him. At the same time he felt as though his own body wasn't even his to control, like his thoughts were foreign invaders in the construct of his mind.

"Your mom isn't home," Isaac whispered, his lips ghosting over Scott's ear as his hand spread across the tanned boy's chest, "If that's what you're worried about."

Clearly Scott hadn't been as inconspicuous about his troubled thoughts as he had believed he was. Or maybe Isaac's intentions were a bit different than his own. Either way, his mom not being present didn't answer any of the most pressing questions in the young werewolf's mind.

"It's not that," Scott responded softly, no longer struggling against Isaac's hold. It was comfortable being held like this by the other boy. Perfect, even. That struck Scott as odd, because he didn't remember getting into bed with Isaac, let alone feeling this comfortable around him, except for that night a week back when they had fell asleep on his couch together. However, there hadn't been any nudity then.

Instead of saying anything else the male beside him set out to pepper the crook of Scott's neck with soft, subtle kisses. It was sweet, endearing in the way that Isaac's touch was so gentle yet focused at the same time. While the sweetness of his kisses tempered Scott's raging mind the drifting presence of Isaac's hands only helped to set his thoughts on fire again. This was wrong. What about Allison? He loved Allison...but this didn't feel wrong, not necessarily.

He tried to groan and hide his face but in its place came a small contented noise and a small shift in his position so he was now on his back with Isaac's knees straddling his waist. The boy was fast, he'd give him that, and strong given the fact that he was able to hold Scott down with just the smallest of touch.

"Isaac," he tried again, his voice a bit firmer this time, "what are we doing?"

Admittedly it was a dumb question. Scott knew enough about the dynamics of intimacy to be able to tell that they were clearly on the path to _something more_ , even if he didn't know how they had started down that path. The beta on top of him merely shrugged and offered a carefully cocky smile, a hidden knowledge in his blue eyes.

"Don't you want this, Scott?" he asked it in such a honey sweet tone that Scott couldn't help but feel himself stir towards the boy. His hips canted upwards against the male, trying not to get him off but instead to gain some sort of friction between them. "That's what I thought."

Just like that Isaac was on him, their mouths crashed together like waves on a beach. The kiss was in stark juxtaposition to the sweetness of the early caresses, but for some reason they were also perfect. Scott couldn't imagine a more perfect kiss and instead of fighting it he allowed himself to be consumed completely by it. Isaac's tongue licked across his bottom lip, politely asking for access that Scott gave up quickly. He moaned softly as the taller boy's tongue licked skillfully into his mouth, the boy's hands already exploring his body as their hips rolled against each other.

Scott had given himself over to the moment completely and could already feel himself desired more contact, more kissing, _more Isaac_. However, it was precisely when Scott was most heated that Isaac broke away from the kiss, his mouth moving to Scott's ear and he buzzed. 

_Buzzzz. Buzzzzz. Buzzzzzzzz._

* * * * * *

Scott snapped awake and closed his hand down on his vibrating cellphone on the side table beside his bed. A dream. It had all been a dream, but clearly it wasn't just a dream, was it? The young werewolf groaned as he realized just how constricting his sleep pants felt - well, at least he hadn't made a mess of his sheets, that was a bonus at least. Still, he couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed by the dreams he had been having about his friend. They were friends now, after all.

He looked at his phone and saw the words _'3 Missed Calls and 7 New Text Messages'_. All three calls were from Stiles, of course, as well as six out of the seven text messages. The seventh, however, was from Isaac, which made Scott feel a bit uneasy. He couldn't not text the boy back just because of a dream he'd had. Everyone had dreams, even ones that made them question their sexuality sometimes....right?

Scott groaned and sat up in his bed, rubbing a bit of the sleep from his eyes and tried to focus on the text messages as he navigated through them on his phone. 

From: Stiles Dude did you hear the news?

Scott quirked an eyebrow, unsure of what his best friend could be talking about. He doubted it was anything important, seeing as how Stiles seemed to read the news from everywhere so long as it was on the Internet, which everything was these days.

From: Stiles I'll take that as a no. Are you awake?

From: Stiles Scott you have to start waking up before noon

A soft sigh escaped the werewolves lips. He had actually set an alarm to get up an hour ago, but apparently he had slept through it during a certain dream. The thought of the dream made Scott feel a bit sick, or maybe just a bit uneasy, he couldn't tell anymore.

From: Stiles I'll give you a half hour before I'm kicking down your door

From: Stiles Fifteen minutes

Those had been from a half hour earlier, which meant Stiles was probably already in his house. He was surprised the sound of the other boy's jeep hadn't woken up him, but then again, the dream had consumed most of his attention.

From: Isaac Hey. Stiles thinks you're with me, I think he's jealous or something. I told him you're probably just asleep. Sorry. Still on for COD tomorrow?

He'd almost forgotten about his plans to see the other beta the next day. Maybe it would be best to cancel those plans, although he didn't really want to ditch he other boy. He knew that when they hung out was pretty much Isaac's only time away from Derek, which was kind of sad.

From Stiles I'm in your kitchen, if you don't get down here I'm eating all your food and leaving a mess

Scott jumped out of his bed and didn't even bother to put a shirt on, instead just running as fast as he could down the hallway, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. The lankier boy was leaning effortlessly against a counter with the fridge door wide open and an assortment of leftovers strewn over the countertops.

"I knew that would get your attention," Stiles chimed as he turned around and quickly groaned, pointing at Scott, "Dude, don't need to see that!"

It was only then that Scott realized that his certain _situation in the pants_ hadn't quite gone away yet. He quickly turned around and stuck his hand down his pants, adjusting himself quickly. 

"Sorry, sorry," he tried to not sound embarrassed, but the nervous laugh at the end didn't really help his cause. 

"I get it man,", his friend said with a shrug as Scott turned around again, this time not sporting a tent in his pants, "Allison?"

Scott just stared at him for a second like a deer stuck in headlights, his mouth slightly open and his head tilted quizzically to the right. 

"What about Allison?" he asked quickly.

"Is she the reason behind," Stiles flailed slightly in some sort of gesture towards Scott's crotch without actually pointing at it, because that would be weird, too weird, "that." 

Scott could feel his cheeks turning red as he diverted his gaze to the floor and shook his head.

"Hey, that's progress!" Stiles was happy about that, for some reason, which shocked Scott slightly. Then again, it likely had to do with his hopeless pining over a girl who was now a continent away. Scott, on the other hand, still felt like there was something very wrong with the dream he had been having. 

"Uh, Stiles, can I ask you something?" He sounded like he was on the verge of running away, something not very common for him anymore. However, Stiles was his best friend and closest confidant, if anyone could help him and give him some advice then it was him, even if it was accompanied by a bit of laughter at his expense. 

"Of course, anything, you know that."

"Yeah, I know, but you have to promise to take this seriously."

"Did you kill your neighbors cat or something?"

The self-righteous grin across Stiles' face made Scott roll his eyes and huff out a sigh. He didn't know if the other boy was capable of taking anything other than life-or-death situations seriously, and they had definitely had their fill of those situations over the last year. 

Scott shook his head and tried to take a steadying breath, his eyes shifted back up to his best friend's face as he tried to gauge just how confident he should be with telling this to Stiles. 

"Is it normal to have dreams about people you don't expect to have dreams about?" He was trying to be as vague as possible mostly because he knew if he gave away too much then Stiles would easily connect the dots. That was what Stiles did, he solved puzzles, he was pretty much a real life adolescent version of Batman, at least without the high tech gadgets and billions of dollars of wealth.

"I once had a dream where I kicked Jackson in the shin and stole his Porsche.," Stiles said with a shrug, as if that was exactly what Scott was talking about. 

"No, not like that, like," Scott didn't know how to put it without being extremely blunt and forthcoming with his information. "You know, dude, _dreams_."

"You're starting to sound like a stoner, Scott, just come out with it already."

"I had a dream about Isaac and he was naked and we were doing things!"

It all came out in a rush as if it were some sort of cathartic moment in a Shakespearean play. Of course, it was very far from that, and given the shocked expression on his best friend's face it was doing anything but relieving tension. Scott's face immediately turned red with embarrassment and he tried to hide his face in his hands, but couldn't help but keep his sights on Stiles to gauge his reaction.

"Oh...." Stiles shrugged and moved his head from side to side as if considering his options about where to go with the conversation. "I mean, that could be normal, sure. Did you like it?"

Of course Stiles would come right out and ask a question like that. Scott didn't really know what he had expected from his best friend - maybe a similar experience? Some sort of equally embarrassing confession?

"I mean, you saw," he motioned downwards and Stiles nodded, clearly remembering the state of Scott's tented pants, "And I wasn't against it in the dream, either."

He felt like he could go dig himself a hole and hide in it for the rest of his life. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with any of this, wouldn't have to deal with anything, really.

"I didn't know you felt that way about guys."

"I don't!" Scott was quick to interject, "At least, I don't think I do. It's just Isaac is....different."

He didn't even know what he meant by 'different', but it felt like the truth. He wanted to know things about the boy, things he couldn't bring himself to ask but felt the desire to ask anyways. He also felt like he needed to protect Isaac and to keep him out of harm's way, something he'd thus far failed at spectacularly given the state his ex-girlfriend had left the other werewolf in after the confrontation with Gerard.

"Maybe it's nothing, maybe it was just one of those crazy teen werewolf sex dreams."

Scott's eyebrow raised precariously high as he questioned where Stiles came up with these ideas. He was pretty sure there was no such thing as 'crazy teen werewolf sex dreams', but it was as good of an explanation as any. Plus, it meant that he wasn't having a sexuality crisis, something that would make hanging out with Isaac a lot less awkward. 

"Or maybe you like Isaac as more than a friend and that's your subconscious' way of telling you to get your shit together."

That suggestion brought a groan from Scott's chest and reminded him that he should always stop Stiles before he thought too much into things. Maybe his thoughts towards the other teenage werewolf weren't so innocent, and so what? Was that such a horrible thing? It was possible that he could be in love with Allison and still like the idea of Isaac. Or maybe this was some sort of werewolf issue, which only left Derek as an avenue for advice. 

"It's okay, Scott, really - either way you'll still have me."

Stiles, the one constant in Scott's life - well, other than his mother, of course. He smiled fondly at his best friend and nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks, Stiles," he spoke softly but honestly, still unsure of what his feelings were towards this entire revelation. Sometimes a dream was just a dream, but other times it could mean more. 

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know, what should I do?"

he was genuinely curious about what Stiles' advice would be, although he was also a bit scared due to the somewhat off-center nature that his friend's mind sometime traveled towards.

"I say just feel things out, see how hanging out with Isaac goes, and see if you have anymore of these dreams."

Scott nodded again, that was actually some pretty sound advice from his best friend. If he didn't know any better he'd think that maybe Stiles had been thinking about this for some time already, like he was going through some sort of similar situation. That couldn't be the case though because as far as Scott knew his best friend was still obsessed with Lydia Martin and working towards his five-year plan - or was it a ten-year plan now? 

"We're supposed to hang out with him tomorrow," Scott pointed out, "You didn't make any other plans, right?"

"Right, about that, something actually came up," Stiles raised his hands as if there was nothing he could do about it and Scott groaned. "You'll be fine though, just don't overthink it."

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to shower," Scott sighed outwardly as he pointed at the mess in the kitchen, "Make yourself at home but clean up, alright?"

Stiles nodded just as Scott turned away. So now he was going to be left alone with his thoughts and Isaac, all the while trying to figure out if a dream was just a dream or if it implied something deeper. For some reason he actually missed the days when his life was too dangerous to even consider life-altering circumstances like this. Well, almost, at least. 


	4. Precipitous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Scott's conversation with Stiles leads to an interesting surprise by Isaac and a revelation about a secret by both the young werewolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd - hopefully you enjoy it. I know it's kind of slow but I hope things are at least building a bit.

Scott was an absolute wreck. Just thinking about the way he had awoken the day before had led to a sleepless night in fear that such dreams would return and then a bout of Stiles-level anxiety building up to the hour in which Isaac was meant to arrive at his home. He knew it was all in his head; there was absolutely no reason why he should be freaking out about such a thing. Even Stiles had confirmed that at their age having sexual fantasies about pretty much _anyone_ was completely normal and likely only made more vivid by Scott's affliction with lycanthropy (or so Stiles was hypothesizing, he had no real empirical evidence on the matter). 

It wasn't such a horrible thing - dreaming about Isaac - except for the fact that it brought up unresolved conflict with his past relationship. Scott really hadn't ever put too much thought into his own sexuality aside from the fact that he had been attracted to Allison from the second he first laid eyes on her. He'd known she was the one for him, the girl who he wanted to have a relationship with.

Perhaps that was the reason why things had gone south so quickly between them. He still loved her, or at least, he felt like he did. There was a part of his heart that would always be devoted to the relationship he had had with her, something his mother had assured him was a part of growing up. Your first love was special, but it was by no means _your only love_. Allison was in France and he was in Beacon Hills and the less he thought about her the better, at least for his heart's sake.

He had made a pact with himself that he wouldn't call, text or email her throughout the entire summer and then come September, if she moved back, he would talk to her again. A lot could change before then, and he was hoping that things would. Everyone was warning him against being in a relationship with her, but it felt so right to him, or at least, it had. 

Things with Isaac were different. He hadn't known _anything_ the first time he had laid eyes on Isaac. Actually, he had known about him for quite some time without giving him much thought until the day he arrived at school after having received the bite from Derek. That was when things changed between them, except back then they were enemies. Scott was only trying to protect him by warning him about the dangers of being a werewolf, the dangers of being part of Derek Hale's pack.

Over the course of the year the situation between them had changed drastically to the point where now they were actually friends and Scott could at least admit that he cared about Isaac. He couldn't stand the thought of the beta getting injured or hurt, and even the thought of him being with someone else was starting to seem distasteful to him. That was not a thought he would linger on for too long, especially not with his anxiety already raging inside him.

All of these thoughts were weighing down on his shoulders as he slumped back against the headboard of his bed, trying to drown them all out with the raised volume of his headphones. The music was likely what had drowned out the sound of Isaac knocking on his front door, and then ringing the doorbell, and finally crawling in through his window.

Scott had heard the stories of Derek doing the same thing to Stiles before - something he had thought was quite strange, although Stiles assured him it was anything but pleasant. However, catching the scent of the other boy as he landed on his floor and stood up beside his bed caught Scott completely by surprise and made him jump nearly off his bed, although he maintained enough composure to instead just pull off his headphones and glare at the taller boy with a look that screamed _'have you never heard of a front door?!'_ Maybe Isaac was learning too much from the local Alpha after all. 

"Sorry," Isaac said, his gaze diverted to the floor as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck nervously, "I didn't mean to scare you, I just thought maybe something was wrong since..." He trailed off when he realized that he was starting to ramble. Scott was used to this side of Isaac, the less confident one that seemed to be constantly tiptoeing around people as if to not step on their heels. It was a drastic change from the leather-clad, bad-boy attitude the boy had adopted earlier in his transformation.

The look of guilt on the other boy's face pained Scott even though he knew it was Isaac's own fault for having scared him. Then again, he could have been paying more attention, especially since he had known the other wolf was meant to arrive around this time.

"It's okay," he smiled as he felt his heart rate decreasing, "really."

"What were you doing?" Isaac was finally looking up at him again, this time his eyes scanning over Scott's bed.

The thought of Isaac looking at him this way, in his room, so close to his bed, brought back thoughts of the dream from the other morning. Of course, the taller boy was far more dressed than he had been, but the basic principles were the same. That brought a small bit of colour to Scott's cheeks, which the other boy seemed to misinterpret because before he could respond Isaac was already saying, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's not that. I was just listening to music, thinking, spacing out - y'know, normal things."

Isaac accepted that answer with a curt nod and a small shrug as he relaxed into the situation. It was easy to see when the taller werewolf was comfortable because whenever he wasn't it was like he collapsed in on himself. His shoulders were now relaxed and pushed back, his chin up and his knees no longer facing the nearest exit. The comfort that Isaac was showing made Scott smile warmly at him, which must have been a strange sight for the boy who had just crept through a window, but was nevertheless greeted with a somewhat more nervous smile reciprocated by Isaac.

"You play?" Isaac asked, his chin nodded towards the acoustic guitar in the corner of his bedroom beside his skateboard.

"Oh, um, yeah my dad taught me when I was little," he shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, quickly adding on, "I don't play much anymore so I'm not very good."

"I always wanted to play an instrument," Isaac confessed, "but my dad would never let me. I almost convinced my mom before she..."

The taller wolf trailed off again at the mention of his mom. Scott already knew that Isaac had fond memories of her, such as her love of the show _Friends_.

"You'd probably be good at piano or guitar," Scott commented, looking at the boy's rather large hands.

Isaac looked back at him, his head tilted to the side with a questioning look on his face. The blue eyes of the boy were clearly meant for a puppy and not a human being, Scott decided, especially when he looked so confused like he did now.

"Your hands," he said quickly, pointing at them, "They'd make it easier to reach the keys of a piano or around the neck of the guitar."

"Oh, right, yeah," Isaac looked a bit embarrassed as if he had been thinking there would be another reason for it. Scott didn't really know what else he could have said other than what he did, so he merely shrugged it off and stood up from his bed. 

"Where's Stiles?" asked Isaac as they started to descend from Scott's bedroom to the living room downstairs.

"He said he had to do something," Scott responded, shrugging his shoulders as he led Isaac along, "Not sure what they were, but he made them sound important."

"Hmmm."

"What?" 

Isaac froze as soon as Scott had turned around to face him, his face suddenly a bit paler as if he had just been caught stealing something. He knew something that Scott didn't, he could already tell that, but what was it?

"It's nothing, really," Isaac assured him, trying to play it cool but failing.

"Isaac..."

"It's just Derek said the same thing, and I noticed Stiles has been around more often."

"Huh," Scott said, a bit of clarity on his face as he thought back to his conversation he had been having with his best friend the other day. If that was the person who Stiles had been referring to about his own experiences with unwelcome dream visitors.... He shook the thought off quickly, except not quick enough since Isaac was on him in a second. 

The taller wolf lumbered over him enough when he was this close that Scott actually had to tilt his head upwards so that he could look at the blue hues of the man. It would be intimidating if he didn't already know that Isaac wouldn't hurt him, or at least he thought he wouldn't, maybe even _hoped_ that he wouldn't.

"What did you just realize?"

Scott looked quizzically at him. How had Isaac been able to tell that? Once again the taller wolf was astounding him with new features of his personality. Perhaps he was just a perceptive person, or maybe he was better with his enhanced werewolf senses than Scott was, which would make sense since he had Derek and Peter to teach him.

"Scott..."

He was pulling a page directly from Scott's book, the one he had just used on Isaac to be exact.

"It's just that Stiles and I were talking yesterday and he sounded like he might be interested in someone."

"Other than Lydia?"

Scott gave him another perplexed look - how had he known about Stiles' obsession with Lydia? Maybe there were a lot of things that Isaac knew that he wasn't talking about.

"Yeah, someone else," Scott confirmed, his voice soft due to the bit of aftershock from realizing that Isaac wasn't as much of an outsider as he pretended to be.

"It could be Derek, I guess," the taller boy hypothesized, stepping away from Scott to give him some of his personal space back.

Scott almost regretted the fact that Isaac was now out of reach again, which brought a small queazy feeling to his stomach. He couldn't deal with this right now, not on top of the fact that his best friend might be secretly canoodling with an Alpha werewolf. That didn't even really seem plausible to Scott, mostly because all the times he had seen them interact it had seemed like a match of who can annoy the other the most. Then again, Stiles did often go after the unobtainable, and maybe Derek was into twinks - yes, Scott knew what that word meant, he had done some researching of his own.

"Stiles and Derek," Scott said aloud, more for his own enjoyment than for Isaac to hear.

"Could be worse," Isaac said with a small shrug, "It could be Stiles and Peter."

The thought alone brought a loud laugh Scott's stomach, one that was matched soon after by laughter from Isaac. Those two together were just ridiculous to think about, almost as ridiculous as the thoughts he'd been having about Isaac. However, standing there, in his living room, laughing with the other boy, it didn't seem so strange anymore. Actually, he kind of found himself enjoying the male's presence.

"Scott," Isaac snapped his fingers in front of his face, apparently he had zoned out for a second, "You okay?"

He seriously need to work on that, especially when he was around Isaac. If he wasn't careful then the other boy might start to think that something was up, which nothing was...right? Then again, given this newly found perceptive side that Isaac had apparently always had it was possible that Scott was only fooling himself now. Still, Isaac hadn't questioned anything outwardly, at least not yet.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how funny Stiles and Peter would be together," he lied, hoping that the other werewolf wouldn't catch him in it. It appeared to work because Isaac gave another small laugh and plopped himself down on the living room couch, a PS3 controller already in his hands.

"I'll take it easy on you today," he assured Scott in a mocking tone.

Of course, once again Scott's teenage mind took it another way and he nearly shook his head, but instead responded, "Don't worry about me, I can take it."

That brought a devilish grin to Isaac's lips as he purposefully looked away from Scott. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of thoughts were going on behind that perfectly chiseled face. If anything, it would be interested to know what Isaac did on a daily basis, if not knowing what he thought.

"Let's do it then."

With that the match had begun and both Isaac and Scott were paying more attention to the screen in front of them than to each other, or at least, Isaac was. Scott couldn't help but feel his focus wavering towards the boy to his right. Every so often his brown eyes would look over to see the genuine smile that pulled at the beta's lips, a smile that Scott couldn't help but feel at least partially responsible for. It was nice to see him like that, happy and distracted, a normal teenager for once in his life. 


	5. Extrapolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again Stiles has surprises, except this time he is working with none other than Derek Hale. As such, an impromptu werewolf bonding (plus Stiles) camping trip is put in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd. I hope you all enjoy. The next part will be up really quick because it will be pretty much just be a direct continuation of this chapter, I just felt like it was getting too long to not break into two parts.

"Camping? Really?" Scott couldn't help but let the disbelief shine through in his voice as he watched Stiles roll up the sleeping bag that he had just inspected on his bedroom floor. This had not been what he thought they would spend the weekend doing, especially since neither of them could really be described as 'outdoorsy' people. Sure, his bout of lycanthropy did mean that he spent an awful lot more time in forests than he used to, but it by no means qualified him as a camping expert, or really even as someone who fancied spending his weekend in the wilderness with his best friend.

"Yes, camping," Stiles responded in the most calm of tones even though Scott could sense the small bit of frustration wavering behind his words, "It'll be fun, man. Just you, me, Isaac, and Derek and-" 

Stiles didn't have time to finish his thought because Scott's face had already changed to one of pure shock, bordering on terror.

"What's wrong? Is it because Derek's coming? It was actually his idea in the first place, he thinks you could use more time spent with werewolves."

Scott shook his head, trying to sort out the flurry of concerns that he had with these plans and the questions they raised. Why was Derek Hale making _any decisions_ about his life and why was Stiles going along with them?

"Since when do you and Derek come up with camping trips together?" Scott's tone was completely accusatory, as was the narrow-eyed gaze he gave his best friend from his position perched on the side of the bed. If Stiles was going to set up freaking _werewolf bonding camping trips_ for him then he was damn well going to have to give some good explanations.

"Oh...." Stiles trailed off, suddenly looking nervous as he tucked away his rolled sleeping bag into its carrying sack and turned around, obviously trying to hide the bit of red colouring that had flooded his cheeks. "It's nothing, Scott, just trust me when I say that 'no' is not an acceptable answer in this situation."

Scott sighed, shaking his head in defeat. It wasn't the worst way that he could spend his weekend, even though he had been looking forward to a few days of just Stiles and himself. He'd been spending way more time with Isaac lately that he felt like he was actually losing track of his best friend. Over the course of their entire friendship he had never felt like this before, but perhaps it was just a part of growing up. Then again, if this had something to do with Derek then Scott wasn't about to just let it happen, not without a bit of a fight.

"Isaac agreed to this?" he asked, his eyebrow quirked questioningly, genuinely curious as to how Stiles would answer.

"Once Derek told him you'd be there, " was all Stiles said, his voice barely more than a mumbled whisper as if he were embarrassed to say it. Why would Stiles not want to tell him that?

"What?" The word came out before Scott could stop it, a question more for himself than for the lanky boy across the room from him. It didn't make sense that Isaac would only agree to camp if he was there unless.... but that was totally impossible, completely out of the picture. Scott knew that whatever it was he was feeling for the beta was just some sort of hormonal glitch, an aberration in the normal pattern of his crushes. Was it even a crush? Scott hadn't had another dream about Isaac since the last time they hung out over a week and a half earlier. It was all just too much to think about, especially in the presence of Stiles who was literally trying to push him out the door and into a tent in the middle of nowhere.

"Isaac said that he'd only agree to go camping for the weekend if you were there too. He said he didn't want to be a third wheel," suddenly Stiles' face drained of all colour as he realized what he had just said and wheeled around, his eyes pleading for Scott not to say anything. Of course, Scott was already too worried about his own possible crush to put any more thought into Stiles' interest in Derek. 

"Okay, I'll go," Scott said firmly, standing up from the bed, "I'll have to ask my mom though."

"Already handled, dude, she packed us sandwiches and told you to have a good time."

Scott tilted his head dangerously to the side and gave Stiles the most incredulous look. Had he really already talked to his mom about this and gotten her permission before even talking to Scott about it? Something was definitely up. This was not a normal camping trip and he could smell it - there was something amiss and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

"How long have you been planning this for?"

"Not long," he gave an unconvincing shrug to which Scott scooted a bit closer, his eyes burrowing even deeper, "Just like a week or so."

If he were a betting man he would have said that these plans had sprouted up the last time he and Isaac had hung out, the time that Stiles had been 'busy with other plans'. Apparently those plans were plotting a camping trip with the resident Alpha who Scott still didn't particularly care for, especially not when it came to having him in the presence of his best friend. Scott knew that Stiles was more than capable of handling himself, but he was only human and if anything were to happen to him, well, Scott didn't know what he would do. He just hoped that whatever it was that was going on between Stiles and Derek wasn't something he should be worried about.

"Fine."

"You mean it?"

"Well it doesn't look like I have much choice."

Stiles shrugged at that, not really agreeing or disagreeing. Either way, Scott felt like he should go along with the camping trip, if only to spend some quality time with Stiles and Isaac. Regrettably there Derek would also be there, but that was something he could stomach for a couple nights - hopefully.

* * * * * *

The decision had been made that Scott and Stiles would take Stiles' jeep while Derek and Isaac would meet them at the assigned area in the Camaro. Apparently the spot was perfect for camping - something both Derek and Stiles agreed on. Scott knew first hand that there wasn't much the two agreed on, and so by the time they arrived he was quite surprised to find that it looked like _literally every other forest_. Even though they were now two or so hours away from Beacon Hills the forest looked just like the preserve by the Hale house except for the fact that it was on the side of a rather large hill instead of flat ground. Therein lied the difference, according to Derek.

"If we climb the hill and go to the other side there is a stream we can camp by,"

he spoke in such a matter-of-fact tone that Scott knew there was no debating what their move would be. Apparently being the Alpha also extended to camping trips, which made Scott suddenly imagine Derek Hale as a Boy Scouts leader complete with badge-strewn sash and kerchief. He stifled a laugh that got him a curious look from Stiles and Isaac, and a deadly glare from Derek.

"Here," came the timid voice of Isaac from behind Derek, grabbing one of the bags Stiles and Scott had packed for the trip, "I'll carry this one."

It was the heaviest one they had but Isaac lifted it like nothing, which earned an appreciative slap on the shoulder from Stiles and a roll of the eyes from Derek. Scott still felt like he was being left out of the loop on something important, but instead of fighting it he figured just going along with whatever this was would probably be easiest. It might even be fun to get away for a while.

* * * * * *

"Are we there yet?" Stiles complained for the umpteenth time since they had left their vehicles behind and started on their hike over the hill. Scott could definitely hear the gently flowing waters of the stream now, which meant they must be pretty close.

"I thought you knew exactly where we were going?" Derek quipped with one of his overly emotive eyebrows stretching upwards towards his hairline. They had been bickering most of the way, mostly since every fifteen or so minutes Stiles would lighten his load more by pawning off his cargo to one of the werewolves. Apparently being the only human on their expedition meant that he was entitled to do the least work. It was something they were willing to accommodate so long as it ceased his complaining even slightly.

Stiles just laughed it off, pulling a face directed at Derek but seen by both Scott and Isaac as well. Isaac simply let out a small, soft laugh and smiled at both of them before meeting his eyes with Scott's and quickly looking away. That was weird, at least for Scott, but he didn't think it meant anything. Probably just heard something in the distance.

"Finally!" Stiles yelled as he jumped into the air, careening past a few trees so he could stand by the bank of the small stream. 

"We'll set up camp right here in this clearing," he instructed, suddenly he was the camp-master.

Both Scott and Isaac looked over to Derek for his approval, which he gave with a curt nod and a smalls shrug as he shucked off everything he had been carrying. The other two wolves quickly followed suit while Stiles took out his cellphone and checked if they had any sort of service: they didn't. 

* * * * * *

Setting up the tents was a rather simple and painless process once everyone decided to listen to Derek's advice instead of Stiles'. Apparently the alpha was actually pretty skilled when it came to such things - perhaps due to his time away from Beacon Hills, or maybe sooner, Scott had no idea. It wasn't really something he was comfortable asking Derek about, mostly because the larger man still gave him a bad vibe even though he knew he was only trying to help. 

In the end there were two tents set up: one for Derek and Isaac and the other for Scott and Stiles. Apparently Isaac had no issues with sleeping in a confined area with a man who could tear him to pieces without even really trying. Then again, Isaac was Derek's last beta who wasn't missing so such a thing happening was highly improbable. Still, Scott wasn't jealous of that sleeping arrangement, even if he did kind of wish that Isaac had been in his tent. 

"You two collect fallen branches and kindling for a fire," Derek instructed, his finger pointed at Isaac first and then at Scott. It felt weird to be bossed around by Derek, unnatural almost. That was probably because he wasn't only sort of part of Derek's pack, definitely not as close to the Alpha as Isaac was, but more so than an Omega. However, he obliged with a smile when he saw that Isaac was already leading the way into the underbrush of the forest.

"Wait up!" Scott called, his legs moving a bit faster so that he could catch up to the taller beta. 

"Hey," Isaac greeted softly, his eyes scouring the ground in front of them for any fallen branches that they could take back to the camp.

"So," Scott started as he bent down to pick up a branch, "This is fun."

He felt dumb for having nothing better to say, especially since this was Isaac he was talking to. It shouldn't have felt forced or awkward; there was absolutely nothing to feel awkward about. They were just two friends on a camping trip with another friend and an Alpha werewolf. Then again, Isaac hadn't been acting his normal self the entire trip thus far. Usually he was more talkative around Scott, but that was something he was willing to blame on the presence of Derek. However, now that they were alone shouldn't things be back to their normal, easy self?

Isaac shrugged, picking up a few more branches from the ground before finally speaking, "This isn't really want I expected." It sounded honest, although Scott didn't know what else one could expect from camping. This was pretty tame compared to some of the stories he had heard in the past about people's camping trips in the wilderness.

"You ever been before?" The question was asked before Scott could even sop himself. He didn't like prying into Isaac's past, especially since he could always tell when the taller boy didn't want to talk about something, and that something was usually his past. He couldn't blame him for not wanting to talk about it. He'd lost his entire family, all in different ways and at different times, but that was still something Scott had never experienced.

"Not for a long time," Isaac said, his voice quiet and tense, he way he got whenever he talked about his dad. Even in passing mention the man was still able to bring out a frightened side of the beta. "My dad used to take me and Camden, but I was too young to really remember anything specific."

Scott could tell he was lying. He was nervously scratching at his forearm and shifting from foot-to-foot in front of Scott. Cleary this wasn't a topic he wanted to talk about, but it was a better camping story than Scott had ever managed to make for himself. Maybe this trip would be something he could eventually remember fondly, or maybe it would be a horror story that he could pass on to his future kids. Either way, it was likely going to be memorable, and hopefully it would be something Isaac would enjoy.

"That's cool, my dad never took me. One time Sheriff Stilinski took Siles and me but we didn't even make it through the night." He laughed at that memory. It was the closest they'd come to camping but they were called back into town for an emergency that the Sheriff had to handle. Stiles and he had considered it luck because they had actually been hoping to spend the night eating junk food and playing video games. 

"Hopefully we'll make it through the night this time," Isaac commented, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as he relaxed again. It was easy to get the boy back to his normal state even when he was berated by memories of his father. Or at least, it was easy for Scott to do, he hadn't actually witnessed anyone else do it.

"I think we will, unless Stiles and Derek get into a fight."

"I don't think fighting is what we have to worry about."

Scott immediately stopped and turned on Isaac, crowding into his personal space. Isaac backed himself up against a tree, clearly not overly comfortable with the invasion of his bubble. "What do you know?" Scott asked, now curious as to what the beta may have been hiding from him.

"Nothing, I swear," he said with a laugh, his grip on the bundle of branches in his arms tightening. 

"You'd tell me if you did, right?" Scott put on his best intimidation of the puppy-dog eyes he had seen Isaac use in the past to get his way with people. It must have worked because he could see the other boy melt against the tree, a sign that he was willing to cooperate. 

"Of course," he promised, a dim smile on his face as he nodded back towards the camp. "Should we head back now?"

They started on the path back to the camp, a small glint of hope in Scott's eyes as he looked up and over at his companion. Maybe this camping trip wasn't such a bad idea after all. 


End file.
